[Assignments] Allow students to view previous submissions

[TaraSchmidt]

Problem statement:

I provide a lot of feedback to my students' writing on their submissions (rather than just in the comments on the side). For example highlighting, inserting text, crossing things out, etc. I am able to use a drop down to view all of their submissions (most recent as well as previous), but the students can not go back and view their previous submissions. Because of this, they can not see my feedback on a previous draft of their writing. Canvas Support suggested taking screenshots and posting them in the comments or sending them to the students' inboxes. This isn't feasible for me to do for all of my students' 15-page papers. I will encourage students to take their own screenshots before resubmitting, but there's no way to make sure they do this.

Proposed solution:

Provide students a drop-down menu (like instructors have) that allows them to see previous submissions along with notes that were provided on those documents.

User role(s):

instructor,student,ta

[KristinL]

Hi @TaraSchmidt -

This functionality is available with Assignment Enhancements. (Because of that, we're moving this thread to our Will Not Consider status.) This is an opt-in feature right now, and it offers students a great experience!

 What is Assignment Enhancements? 

Canvas Release: Assignment Enhancements 

If your school is not ready to adopt Assignment Enhancements and your students use the Canvas Student app, encourage them to check their previous submissions there. They can easily review all versions of their work in the app.

[TaraSchmidt]

Thank you, Kristin. The Canvas Support team seems to be unaware that students can view previous submissions in the app, as they told me screenshots were the only option. A I understanding this correctly as meaning students can only view previous submissions (along with my notations on those documents) from their phone but not when logged in on a computer?

[KristinL]

Right now, that is true. Unless the new Assignment Enhancements are enabled, that is the current user experience. Your Canvas Admin should be able to discuss the benefits of the new feature option, or share why they aren't ready to activate it for your school at this time.

[pcorvino]

Problem statement:

I teach a course that requires students to upload multiple papers to the same assignment item. When they submit the revision, a dropdown box appears for me in speedgrader to navigate between the original and the revisions. However, students can only see their most recent submission. So, that means they lose access to all the comments I had made previously. I have been downloading the annotated pdf that Canvas generates and sending it to them, but that's a waste of my time, and the pdf is tricky to navigate. They have to click on each comment in the comment pane to view the comment, and some canvas feedback features are hard to see on the pdf (for example, the blue pinpoint). I also think downloading this extra document is a waste of their time when instructors already have the functionality. And building extra assignment items to accept the revisions will clutter up the assignment tab and will likely lead to student confusion. It's also a waste of time to build extra assignment items when one item will suffice.

Proposed solution:

Allow students access to their previously submitted assignment comments with similar functionality to what instructors have (dropdown box to navigate between assignment submissions) so they can view all previous comments, which will aid their learning and our teaching.

User role(s):

instructor